In this short item, we hope to rekindle memories of customs, celebrations and
happenings of yesteryear in Audley and we hope to persuade readers to send us
further information for a future issue. Perhaps next time we
could have a ‘Betley or Talke Customs...’

Whenever you mention past customs, the first piece of information is invariably
Audley Wakes Week and the attendant celebrations. In an age when few
people went away for an annual holiday, the village concentrated on enjoying
itself at home, with the fairground rides and sideshows providing the commercial
background, especially on Wakes Saturday.

Hospital Saturday, with its stalls and procession, was held on an August
Saturday. The money collected was donated to the local voluntary
hospitals. Sunday was the Wesleyan Charity, with Sunday School scholars on
parade, collections, and special services. On Bank Holiday Monday, the
Forresters’ parade and carnival toured the village, followed on Tuesday by the
Oddfellows’ celebrations. Wednesday and Thursday were the days of the
flower show and brass band competition, the latter attracting famous bands such
as Foden’s and Black DykeMills’ from all over the north of England.

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Good Friday saw the
annual exodus from Audley to Mill Dale, a local beauty spot with its clear
stream and a supply of fresh spring water, whilst the people of Bignall End went
up the hill to the monument.

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A reminder of old times
that disappeared in 1939 was the curfew bell, tolled every night at 8 o’clock.
Another ancient tradition was the ceremony of beating the bounds, which, unlike
some other events above, does not seem to have had a fixed date. It also
seems to have been a fairly arduous task, as old photographs show plentiful
supply of liquid and other refreshments when a rest was taken.

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A whole host of
celebrations were linked with the local chapels and Sunday Schools, ranging from
the Anniversaries and Charity Sundays to Sunday School treats on various fields
around the parish, often ending with gifts of delicacies such as rice buns and
sweets. Audley Church Sunday School very early on had an annual outing to
Chester by charabanc, with a boat trip up the river to Eaton Hall.

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In a category hard to
place in the context of the title is the delaying of the local train from
Bignall End to Newcastle every morning during the hunting season. This was
to allow a van, containing the mount of Reginald N Wood to be attached to the
train en route to Keele Hall for a day’s hunting. Local children
travelling to schools in Newcastle were delighted as it meant a late start to
their school day. the same RN Wood was the first person to own a car in
Audley, whose inhabitants were taken aback one day to see the limousine
travelling through the village with a donkey in the back, apparently bought for
one of his daughters.